It's In The Blood
by The Homeless Poet
Summary: Secrets from Alec's Manticore past return to haunt him as an old enemy lays a trap to hunt him down. But why? Meanwhile, the clock is ticking as Logan's been infected with Max's virus, and soon she will have to choose between the two men she has come to love... Max/Alec, Hurt/Comfort, hurt!Alec, worried!Max, the hunt for the cure, kidnapping, general adventure-y goodness
1. Chapter 1

**It's In The Blood**

**Summary: **The clock starts ticking when Logan is infected with Max's deadly virus, and she and Alec must a way to save him before it's too late. Lucky for them, a former Manticore doctor claims to have the cure, but what is it she's not telling them, and why is she so interested in Alec? As events spiral out of control, old enemies will be faced and new truths uncovered as Max fights to save the two men most important in her life and discover her innermost feelings about them. But soon she has to make a deadly choice, between saving the love of her life, and saving what could be the one thing that makes her life worth living...

**This Fic Contains:** Kidnapping, secrets from Alec's past, H/C Alec McDowell style, worried!Max, hurt!Alec

**Pairings: **Max/Alec (endgame), although it's a little Max/Logan-ish to begin with (I'm sorry! We get him out of the way sharpish, though, so don't worry =] )

**Rating: **T for language and gore (probably, but that's just to be on the safe side)

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the crappy storyline and the words on the page!

**A/N: **This is the first Dark Angel thing I've written that's of any length, so hopefully it doesn't suck too much, I know the show hasn't aired in forever but it's still awesome, okay, and I _will _write this fic, goddammit! Also I just started college (like literally today, woo) so schoolwork might threaten to take over my life and stop this from being completed, but I solemnly swear that I shall do my absolute best to make sure that doesn't happen =] Just don't expect daily updates... !

* * *

Darkness.

Cold metal beneath him, skin clammy.

Restraints. Always restrained.

Animal.

Blood. Lots of blood.

_His _blood.

Draining out of him, away, away, away... Infinitely.

When it stops draining it will be too late.

He can't see. Can't _think._

Hurts. It hurts. It's... agony.

He's frightened. He can't remember being frightened very often, but he is now. He's terrified.

Max isn't coming.

He's going to die.

* * *

48 HOURS EARLIER

* * *

'I must say, Max, I've been waiting for you to appear on my doorstep in the middle of the night for a very long time,' Alec drawled with a lopsided smirk. He was fully dressed but slightly disheveled, his clothing crumpled and hair spikey. Max could smell the alcohol on his breath. It seemed he was always drinking these days, but as long as he was sharp enough to be good in the field, she tried not to complain about it too much. Unsuccessfully, of course.

There was just something about Alec that rubbed Max up the wrong way, his happy-go-lucky approach, his constant flirting, his easygoing nature, his infuriating cockiness, his seemingly never-ending line of female conquests, the way he seemed to attract trouble, and she always had to get him out of it again...

Maybe she was being too harsh. After all, the guy was a pretty good second-in-command. _Unofficial _second-in-command. He had rallied the transgenics when it looked like they weren't going to follow an X5, and an '09er at that. He'd put Dix in charge of supplies, and that had certainly been a good call - the guy was worth his weight in gold. And he was the only one who knew how to talk Mole down from a temper tantrum.

And, though she'd never admit it, his charisma, good looks and charm certainly proved helpful in helping to present their cause to the Ordinaries in a more favorable light.

'What can I do for you, sweet lady?' he said with a theatrical grin, and Max snapped her thoughts back to the situation at hand. She wasn't in the mood for Alec's antics, not today. In fact, not ever, not with Terminal City to run and Logan moved back into Joshua's old house, and the sector police on her ass all the damn time and food and typtophan supplies running dangerously low.

'Shut up. I'm not here to get sweet talked by you, despite what you may think. Logan's got a job for you.'

'Oh, so _he's _the one who should be on my doorstep in the middle of the night. Can't say it surprises me. He's been giving me these looks-'

'Cut it out, will you!' Max snapped, impatient. 'I'm not joking, and we haven't got much time. This is a now-or-never deal, okay?'

'A wild goose chase in the middle of the night? You've got to be kidding me. Last time this happened I nearly got blown up.'

Max didn't ask; she rolled her eyes instead. 'This is important. It's not a wild goose chase.'

Alec cocked his head. 'Important how?'

'Logan thinks-'

'Cut the crap, Max. This is important to you, too, or you wouldn't be here right now,' Alec observed, wrongfooting Max for a moment. Damn. Sometimes she forgot that Alec had been trained by Manticore. It made him the rival of Sherlock Holmes any day. Possibly.

She sighed. 'Okay, fine. You were going to find out sooner or later anyway. Logan thinks he might have found the cure.'

Alec shrugged. 'So?'

'So this is important! And if you quit drinking for just a minute you might be sober enough to see that!'

Alec's face closed down. 'I'm always sober, Max.'

'Whatever. So are you going to help or not?'

Alec cracked his usual grin. 'Aw, you know me, Max. 'Knight in shining armor' and all that.'

'More like 'anything for a pretty face',' she muttered, turning to go.

'I heard that, you know!'

'I'm sure your ego will recover.'

Alec snorted, but followed her out of his apartment, closing the door behind him. There was no point in locking it. He trusted the transgenics around here not to go snooping (and also the threat that he'd break their arms if they ever did), and if any Ordinaries ever made it this far then they were all screwed anyway.

They moved along the darkened alleyways that formed Terminal City quietly, more out of habit than anything else. It was no wonder the Ordinaries didn't venture here, even before the transgenics moved in. Terminal City was a creepy rabbit warren of shadows that screamed 'get the hell out of here unless you want to _die_, fool'.

Alec was at home in the dark. His feline DNA ensured that he was never quite blind, and he liked the fact that darkness allowed him to move around more freely. Ordinaries feared the dark because they couldn't see what might be out there. Alec liked it because of precisely that reason. It hid him when he was out there.

It had taken the sector police a long time to get clued up on the existence of the tunnels, and even longer for them to realize that the TC transgenics were using them as a network to move around the city pretty much unobserved, and even then it was just impractical to set up guards at every manhole and entrance they might possibly pop up out of. So it didn't take much for the two trained soldiers to sneak past what few cops there were around and make it to Logan's current house - Joshua's old one.

'We really should have a secret knock,' Alec mused, bouncing on the balls of his feet as they waited for Logan to answer the door. They'd taken to using the back door these days, on the principle that you never could be too cautious, especially not if you're a genetically engineered supersoldier that everyone wants to either kill or dissect.

'Y'know. Like in the movies.'

'Whatever,' Max grumbled, no longer really listening to Alec's lazy idiocy. If she listened to everything the guy ever said, she'd never get any thinking done. He was a ball of energy and charisma, and it could be damn irritating at times, not to mention tiring.

And Logan hadn't answered the door yet.

'Where is he?' she muttered, knocking again.

'Maybe he's joined a secret society of freedom fighters. They do that in the movies, too,' Alec said, raising an eyebrow.

'Yeah, I'm sure that's totally it.'

Another five minutes past, and Max's brain went into freefall, overdrive, as she thought through all the possible scenarios that would cause Logan to answer the door late.

Like being dead.

Or arrested.

Or both.

She decided that was a bad train of thought.

'And anyway, since when did you watch movies?' That was as good a topic of conversation as any, and it certainly seemed innocent enough to not lead down any nasty paths, (like Logan being- stop it).

'I watch movies all the time. Unlike you, I have this little thing called a life. You might want to give it a try sometime. It would certainly stop you being such a bitch all the damn-'

'Shut up.'

'Case in point. What have I even done now?'

'No, I mean shut up. Something's not right.'

Alec frowned, listening. 'What? I don't hear anything.'

'Exactly.'

It only took him a second to catch on. 'Logan's computers. I can't hear them.'

Being Eyes Only required an enormous amount of kit, and it always made a distinctive whirring noise, a bit like a chipmunk in a blender. But not today.

Max bit her lip, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head, all of them culminating with '_where is he?_'.

'Hey, listen,' Alec said suddenly, holding up a hand to signal for quiet. 'Hear that?'

She closed her eyes and listened, really _listened__, _focusingall of her being onto it, and - there! - she heard it, the tiniest of whimpers.

She broke the door down in a second, and what she saw stunned her.

It looked like a tornado had hit, and Max stopped for a second to panic. All Logan's computers had been ripped from the walls, their screens blank as empty eye sockets, papers littered the floor and there wasn't a single item of furniture still standing upright. Someone had been here. Someone angry.

And there, in the middle of the floor, was the man himself, Eyes Only, Logan Cale, the love of her life, lying unmoving on his back.

In a second she was by his side, fists clenched as she fought not to touch him, not to reach out and cradle his head, hold him and tell him that it was all going to be okay, more for her benefit than his.

_Oh, Logan, what have they done to you?_

She gave him a quick once-over, checking him for any obvious signs of injury. All his limbs were intact and in relatively comfortable positions - it almost looked as though he had been lain down gently rather than dropped or knocked out. He wasn't bleeding obviously from anywhere, although of course it could be hidden by his clothes. His eyes were closed and his breathing shallow, his skin an unhealthy yellowish color with a light sheen of sweat to it. He looked more unwell than hurt.

His spectacles were nowhere to be seen.

This was all her fault. She could have stopped this. She _should _have stopped this. Logan was only in this state because of her. This was all her.

She felt a hand on her arm and she turned sharply, only to find that Alec was very close behind her and now their noses were almost touching. The other transgenic dipped his head in apology and stepped back, his expression darkening as he did so.

'We need to get out of here, Max.'

'What? We can't! Logan...'

'We have to. I just called the police. Anonymous tip. They'll be here in a minute, all guns blazing, and by then I'd rather not still be here. I mean, I'm all for a bit of action, but you can have too much of a good thing...'

Max blinked. How long had she been standing there, battling with herself, thoughts chasing each other's tails. There were white crescents in her palms where her fingernail had dug into them. She must've been totally out of it if she hadn't noticed that. If she hadn't noticed Alec calling the police.

She didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave Logan there, his fate uncertain, not knowing whether he would live or die, or even what was wrong with him or what had happened. She wanted to take him back to Terminal City where they could help him, or, failing that, just be with him, sit by his side and hold his hand.

But she couldn't do any of that. Alec's logic was sound - the police would call an ambulence and Logan would be taken to hospital, where he'd be far safer and better looked after than he ever could hope to be in Terminal City. Quite apart from the deadly, toxic waste polluting the area the transgenics now called 'home', the sector police would have no problem with shooting anyone who appeared as a threat, and while the transgenics and their antics could usually avoid being hurt, Logan Cale certainly didn't posess any natural grace, stamina or fighting skills.

'Let's go,' she said finally, sounding decisive even though her entire body was telling her to stay. She had no choice. It was leave or die.

She still wanted to stay.

She didn't move, looking down at Logan's face. God, she loved him so, so much. He was so kind, so sweet, so generous. He gave so easily and unquestioningly. He was always there for her, no matter what. She should be able to repay the favor. But he'd never forgive himself if she got her ass kicked on his behalf. That was the kind of man he was. He was a good man.

She didn't deserve him. He didn't deserve this.

'Come on,' Alec said, turning for the door, and Max had no choice but to follow.

They must have made it back to Terminal City with no glitches, because by the time Max really registered where she was, they were already coming out of the tunnels at the other end. TC was quiet at this time of night, that silent time between late night and early morning when only the men and women on duty were up and about, and they were keeping a low profile as usual. Even Luke, who often stayed up into the early hours checking the computer system and trying to preempt problems before they occurred, had gone to bed by now.

'You gonna be okay getting back to your apartment?'

Max gave Alec a look. 'I'm not an invalid, you know. I don't need your help.'

Alec held up his hands in a placating gesture. 'Okay, fine. Suits me anyway. See you around, Max.' He sent her a theatrical grin and loped off into the shadows, leaving Max standing alone in the middle of the darkened alleyway.

She suddenly felt very much alone.

* * *

**A/N: **Hallo, Little Miss Author here (although you can call me Mo if you really want to =] ). Just a short chapter to start off with to gauge interest. I mean, I'm planning on continuing writing this anyway even if no one ever reads this (and let's face it, the DA fandom is practically zombified these days, right?), but it'd be nice to know if people _are _reading it.

Also, this is my first DA fic, so I've got no idea if I'm doing anything remotely right. Leave a review and tell me how bad it is?

Muchas gracias!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Thanks everyone who read this, and an extra big thanks to those who left comments!

Tash: Don't worry, it will be =] Only Max is her usual oblivious self for a little bit longer. Hopefully when Max/Alec makes an appearance it'll make it all worth it, because it's going to be pretty dramatic... =]

LEMarauder: Thank you! I'm really glad to know I'm on the right track with the characters =] Me too, although I would've loved to see MA develop in Season 3... Such a shame they didn't get that far!

**A/N2: **This is all unbeta'd by the way, so every single mistake is a result of my stupid brain. I'd also like to just warn you that this kept refusing to save so I had to write each line about six times before it would save, so if there are any weird bits or things that don't make sense, that's why. Also it's a much longer chapter than the first one, so I hope it's not too long!

* * *

'Max, if you don't sit down you're going to wear a hole in the floor.' Alec's tone was light, but she could tell he was getting irritated.

'Shut up,' she growled at him, her own patience wearing thin.

'I'm just saying, pacing around at 100 miles per hour isn't going to make Logan all better, so you might as well sit down and save my sanity.'

Max groaned, but she knew he was right. Nothing she did now was going to help Logan. His life was in the hands of the doctors at the hospital, and she couldn't even go there, be there for him. Because someone somewhere had decided she was a freak. Dangerous. Disgusting. Animal.

She wanted to scream at the unfairness of it all.

'I can't just sit around and do nothing,' she snapped.

'Okay then, fine. In that case you can come here and give me a hand.'

Her curiosity got the better of her. Hey, she was part cat after all. 'What are you doing?'

Alec rolled his eyes. 'I'm cross-referencing all the Breeding Cult's known movements over the last couple of days, trying to see if they had anything to do with this.'

She was at his shoulder in a second, peering at the computer screen in front of him. It was an old and beaten up machine, nothing like Logan's nice, sleek systems (now trashed and lying strewn over his floor - not that she was thinking about that), but it served its purpose and seemed unfazed by all the radiation in the area, so it was the best they could hope for.

'I didn't know we were tracking the Breeding Cult,' she mused, scrutinizing the series of red dots that each represented a place Ames White had been two recently.

Alec raised an eyebrow. 'We're not.'

'So how... ?'

'Well. _We're _not. Logan is. He just doesn't know it.'

'What?! So you've stolen Logan's technology now, is that it?'

Alec shrugged. 'Nah. Luke and I hacked it.'

Max didn't know if she wanted to yell at him for being so dishonest or congratulate him on his foresight. Although it probably hadn't been foresight at all. He's probably just been bored one night and decided to do it for a laugh. Or to irritate Logan. It sounded like the kind of stupid, irresponsible, frustratingly _Alec-y _thing he'd do.

'Since when did you know about computers?'

'Since I was trained to at Manticore. You don't know _everything _about me, Max.' He said it lightly, but Max sensed that there was some other emotion hidden just beneath the surface, just deep enough that she couldn't see it. Not for the first time, she wondered just how much he kept hidden from her, hidden from the world. When she really thought about it, she really didn't know very much about Alec at all.

She shook herself mentally. Time enough for that later. Alec wasn't top priority right now. Alec was never top priority. He was just Alec.

'What can I do to help?'

* * *

Three hours later and they were no further forward - in fact, they were back to square one as their Breeding Cult lead had turned into absolutely nothing.

'But if it's not White, then who is it?' Max practically moaned. Who but the Breeding Cult would go to such extremes to get at her? Who but the Breeding Cult knew of Logan's involvement with the transgenics and could have found out where he was living? Who but the Breeding Cult, with their twisted, sick sense of humor, would have left the barely-alive Logan for her to find?

'Hey, it doesn't have to be because of us, right?' Alec said, more perky than he had any right to be in Max's opinion. 'I'm sure Eyes Only has a ton of enemies who'd like to get at him for something or other.'

'He called me in the middle of the night, Alec, to tell me that he thinks he's found the cure. And then he's mysteriously attacked _on the same night_?'

Alec shrugged. 'Coincidence?'

'Yeah, right,' Max scoffed. 'Since when do coincidences happen around us? This was the Breeding Cult, I can just tell, but just knowing doesn't help us_ at all_.'

She stood up again and for a horrible moment Alec thought she was about to start pacing - _again _- but then he was miraculously saved by her mobile ringing. She whipped it out immediately, answering it in a smooth movement.

'Hello?'

'_Max? It's Dr Carr_,' Alec heard from the other end of the line. His trangenic hearing meant he could eavesdrop on the whole conversation, even if half of it did sound slightly tinny and squashed.

Max would have paled if she didn't have such good control of herself. As it was, she felt slightly queasy. 'Hit me with the worst, Doc. How's he doing?'

Sam sighed. '_It could be worse, Max. He's doing okay, under the circumstances. I've got him on a drip and he's taking antibiotics. He's got a fever, and a high temperature, and..._'

'What? Tell me.'

'_You're not going to like this, I'm afraid. But right now, whatever he's got is something we've only come across once before. It's your virus, Max._'

Max felt numb. 'What?'

'_Are you sure you didn't touch him at any point? Or come into any contact with him? Did you share any food?_'

She shook her head, feeling slightly dizzy. 'No. He was just like that when we arrived. I didn't do anything.' Her voice came out quiet and subdued, and it sounded like it was coming from a very long way away.

Logan was infected with her virus. After all this time, all the precautions they'd taken, all the ways they'd struggled to stay safe, he was infected with the virus after all. The _deadly _virus.

'Is there anything you can do for him?' she asked, heart in her throat.

'_We can try the transfusion again, if Alec comes in. But..._'

'But?'

'_Well. When he took the blood last time it allowed him to walk for a short time, didn't it? But then he became immune to the antibodies in the blood, the effects diminished and he returned to his original state. What I'm worried about is that this will happen more quickly this time, possibly even before the blood transfusion has had a chance to work... I'm sorry, Max. It's just a hunch, but I think you need to be prepared. We might have run out of second chances._'

'Max-' Alec began softly when she hung up, but she stopped him with a gesture.

'Don't, Alec. Just... don't, okay? We're going to help him. We're going to get help. And he's going to recover. He _has _to.'

Alec nodded sharply. He recognized the determination in the other transgenic's voice, and when Max was determined there was no force in heaven of hell that could stop her. It was one of the things he liked most about her. Also one of the most frustrating things. But he recognized it now, and knew there was no point arguing.

Max was trying to reassure herself that everything was going to be okay, and who was he to take that away from her?

'If he's infected with the virus...' Max began thoughtfully, then speeding up as she became more sure of herself. 'If he's infected with the virus, then won't the cure help him?'

'Yeah, maybe... But Max, we don't know where that is.'

'No, _we_ don't, but Logan called me out tonight because he'd found it. If we can get to his house and search through all the stuff then we might be able to find some sort of a clue as to where it is, right?'

'That's a long shot, Max, and you know it. Sounds pretty risky to me. I mean, it's probably not the real cure anyway. And even if by some miracle we manage to find it, there's no guarantee that it will even help him. The cure's designed for you, to stop your virus from killing him, rather then to save him when he's already infected.'

'I know... But it's a chance. And right now it's the only one we've got.'

Alec sighed. 'Okay, fine. Count me in.'

'No. You need to go to the hospital and give Logan your blood.'

'Aw, come on, there are plenty of other transgenics who-'

'Please, Alec. I don't know them. It needs to be you.'

He looked her in the eye, scrutinizing her, and he knew that what she really meant was _I don't trust them like I trust you_.

'Okay then. But after that I'm coming straight to Logan's and giving you a hand. And you're not doing anything stupid without me, 'cause I don't want to miss out on all the fun, alright?'

Max smirked. 'Okay then, hero-boy.'

* * *

Logan's house was a complete tip, and Max's heart sank when she opened the door and saw it all. There was no way she'd ever find anything in here. Not if she looked for a thousand lifetimes. And Logan didn't have a thousand lifetimes. He only had this one, and it was fast running out.

At least he wasn't alone. Alec had managed not to get arrested right when he was most needed this time, which, y'know, is always helpful. Although Max knew she couldn't be mad at him for that when technically it had been Ben's fault.

She thought about the conversation they'd had back then. _Some guy with Ben's face_... He'd been right. It did make things harder for her. She was always expecting him to be Ben, _wanting _him to be Ben, desperate to see the shadows of Alec's twin in his face, but it never happened. They might have been the same, but in reality they couldn't have been more different. Ben had always been quiet, dreamy, full of hope and honesty and light. He had lived through stories and faith. He had given them all hope.

Alec... Alec was a pain in the ass. He was cocky and flirty and frustrating. He was a trouble magnet, and she couldn't ever really _rely _on him, not like she could on Logan, but... Every now and again she got just a glimpse of the man he really was, or the man he could be, she wasn't sure which. And it made everything more complicated. It was a wonder she was still putting up with him.

Agh. And now she was thinking about Alec again when it was Logan who was currently _dying_. She felt like smacking herself. She really was a heartless bitch. It was a wonder Alec was still putting up with her.

It took her a long time to search Logan's study. His workspace was never tidy at the best of times, and especially not after he'd just been attacked by whoever it was. The Familiars. Of course it was them. Who else could it be?

In the hospital, Alec was asking himself the same thing.

Max seemed so certain this was White's doing, and sure, it made sense, but something didn't quite add up. Something told him that this wasn't them... Maybe his hunch was wrong. He'd been wrong before, plenty of times, but there was just something about this that felt... just a little bit dodgy.

Logan was sleeping peacefully now, although his skin still had an unhealthy yellowish sheen to it. Alec had given him all the blood he could safely lose (he'd felt slightly woozy and lightheaded afterwards but that was probably just down to lack of sleep), but there was still the risk that it wouldn't be enough. He hoped it would. Max would be even more of a bitch if Logan died.

He and Logan weren't friends, exactly. They put up with each other because of Max, and it was a relationship that had just about worked so far. Logan was a good man, and Alec respected that. He was a guy who was trustworthy, responsible, and never hurt the ones he loved, and these were traits Alec recognized that he didn't have. No wonder Max loved Logan. And she did, she really did. He hated to think what she'd be like if Logan died.

But in Alec's opinion, the two could never last. Quite apart from the fact that they couldn't touch right now without Logan dying, Max would never be able to be _Max _with Logan. It wasn't that he was a bad man, it was that he was _too _good. He had never shot someone, never killed someone, never felt that terrible stage of fear and pain where you will do anything, denounce anyone, hurt anyone, _kill _anyone, just to make it stop. People who hadn't grown up at Manticore would never be able to understand. It wasn't their fault, it was just a fact.

Like the fact that Max would always want to be an Ordinary around Logan. She would always be denying that primal, instinctual, animalistic part of herself that craved adventure, excitement, passion. It wasn't so much that Logan was a cripple, although of course that must have made things extra-difficult, it was more his personality, his gentleness, his kindness, his generosity. And they were all good traits. But they weren't exciting.

Logan would never be enough for Max. She needed someone who understood her, someone she could be herself around. Someone who-

He was snapped out of his dark thoughts by the sound of his mobile ringing, and speak of the devil, it was Max.

'Hey, you found anything yet?' he asked casually, a grin in his voice.

_'I think I might've, actually.'_

'Yeah?'

_'It's an address for a doctor, ex-Manticore. Judging from his notes, Logan seems to think that she had something to do with making the_ virus.'

'She?'

_'Focus on the important stuff why don't you, Alec. How's Logan doing?'_

'He's fine. Who's the doctor?'

_'Yvonne Carlson. Ringing any bells?'_

'This may come as a surprise to you, but I wasn't actually on first name terms with _all _of the Manticore doctors.'

_'Shame. This is more than a coincidence, Alec. I have to go and talk to her, see what she knows.'_

'Oh no you don't. If this Carlson chick helped make the virus then she's seen your file, which means there's a good chance she's seen your picture. If you go striding in there then the alarm bells will all go off and she'll disappear, go to ground.'

_'What are you saying, exactly?'_

'That there's no way you're doing this alone.'

_'You'll come with me?'_

'Are you insane? Danger, adventure, Manticore... Wouldn't miss it for the world.'

* * *

'Talk me through the plan once more.'

They were standing in a darkened alleyway opposite the address Max had found in Logan's apartment, which had led to a second-floor flat in Sector 7. It was just coming up for 6:30am, which apparently Max deemed suitable calling hours because she was sending Alec in straight away.

Although right now he felt like ripping his hair out. 'Seriously, Max? 'Cause I think I can remem-'

'Again.'

Alec sighed, but the look on her face left no room for argument. This was Logan they were talking about. There would be no second chances, so she couldn't risk him screwing up.

It sort of hurt, how little faith she had in him, even after all this time. Although it no longer came as much of a surprise.

'Okay, fine. The plan is: I go in there, distract this Carlson lady, while you sneak in the back and have a look for anything that might be the cure. I miss anything?'

Max rolled her eyes. 'That's the basic gist of it, although you kinda missed out all the details.'

'I've done this kind of thing before, Max. I know what I'm doing.'

She looked worried, almost like she was going to argue, but then she just nodded. 'We haven't got time to waste, anyway. I'll text you when I'm done.'

'Sure.' He turned to leave, cross the road and start the operation, but then he stopped, feeling like he should say something more, reassure her somehow. 'This is gonna work, Max. Logan's gonna be okay.'

She didn't know whether to smile or frown. Alec always managed to catch her off-guard, especially when he was... well, _nice_. Sometimes he was just a pain in the ass - scratch that, _most _of the time he was a pain in the ass - but then there were those moments when she caught a glimpse of so much _more_, just beneath the surface. But it was only for a second, and it was only a shadow, and she never knew if it was real or imagined, so she cleared her throat awkwardly and said:'Just... don't screw up, okay?'

Alec felt his throat tighten, so he grinned a grin he didn't mean and spoke with false gaiety. 'Well, I might want to make things just a little more interesting, y'know? I mean, wouldn't want you getting bored, right?'

She moved to smack him lightly and he ducked out of the way, amusement dancing in his eyes. 'Good to know you're so worried about my health. I'm flattered.'

'Just get in there, idiot.'

'With pleasure, ma'am.' He performed a mocking salute that made Max feel ill, although not so much from all her old memories that it brought up as from the fact that it looked to easy, so natural coming from him. It was so easy to forget he'd been in Manticore for ten years longer than she had.

But Alec realized none of this as he turned and loped across the dark street to the apartment of the good Doc on the other side. Hopefully this would all go to plan, and they'd be back at the hospital in an hour or so, with the cure in hand. Logan would be fine, and everything would return to normal. Although, not quite normal. Max would probably spend more time outside of TC with Logan... Trust her to leave all the heavy lifting to him... It would be the end of an era, really. He idly considered moving on. TC wouldn't hold the same attraction for him if he wasn't being moaned at by Max pretty much 24/7.

He reached the door, and pressed the button to buzz for Dr Carlson's apartment. No time for idle thoughts right now. He was on a mission, just like he'd been trained. In many ways, it felt easy to just slip back into his own role. It felt familiar. Comforting, even.

The speaker beneath the buzzer crackled, and a woman's voice came through the system, sounding rather faint and tinny.

'Dr Carlson's office, state your name and business.'

Quick, clear, and to the point. Alec switched off the charm in favor of copying her style. 'The name's Alec McDowell. I'm here to speak to you about Manticore.'

He was met with silence for a moment. Good. She was surprised. Caught off-guard.

'I don't want to hurt you, Dr Carlson. I'm just here to talk.'

'Are you a journalist?' to her credit, she didn't sound rattled, and if Alec hadn't been trained to listen for the quietest tremors in a person's voice, he would've said she was nothing less than perfectly calm. Unfortunately for her, he had.

'No ma'am. But we do share a mutual... friend.'

Another silence, this time longer than the last. Alec waited, shifting his weight slightly between the balls of his feet, poised to run if he got the slightest whiff of danger. Running wasn't usually his tactic, but he was essentially a recon model, made for undercover work and quick, quiet assassinations. He wasn't built like some of the heavier 'tank' models, with their large muscles, imposing height, and fists of steel. He could hold his own in a fight, sure, but he wasn't superhuman. Well. He was still bound by the laws of physics, anyway.

As it turned out, he didn't need to run. The door was buzzed open and he walked quickly into the hallway of the building before Carlson changed her mind and locked him out again. It was a pretty average block, nicer than his digs, less nice than Logan's old home, so about normal middle-ish-class. It needed a new paint job, and the carpet was a little shabby, but he couldn't see any dirt on the walls or suspicious stains on the ceiling, so that was a plus.

He made it up the stairs two at a time, quickly texting Max to tell her he'd gotten in as he did so. They hadn't had enough time to get the radio set from TC or this wouldn't have been an issue.

Dr Carlson's apartment was the first on the right, and he stopped for a moment, mentally taking stock of the situation and missing the reassuring pressure of a gun against his lower back. Max had forbidden it. Something about 'going there in the spirit of peace'. While she was sneaking in the back. Whatever. She just didn't like guns.

Which he could understand. But still. He'd rather have one in his hand than one pointed at him. He'd been on the wrong end of a gun once too often for that not to be the case.

He knocked, and the door opened a moment later to reveal a woman in her late forties. Her hair was silver and cropped short, her face half in shadow, although what he could see of it was neat and well-proportioned, lacking the wrinkles of age without having that stretched appearance you get with plastic surgery. 'Well-preserved' was an adjective that could describe her pretty well.

Also 'hardy'. She looked like a no-nonsense kind of woman.

'Come in,' she said, ushering him into the apartment and closing the door behind him. He blinked a couple of times in the darkness, the lack of light a stark contrast to the brightness of the hallway outside, and it was so disorientating he almost missed the sound of the lock being engaged on the door.

He whirled round, but there didn't seem to be any threat. She just stood there, feet firmly planted, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised.

'Well? Start talking.'

'Listen, I don't want any trouble, I was just coming here to-'

'That's not gonna work, pretty boy. You're one of them, aren't you?'

How could she-?

She shouldn't have known that. It wasn't much of a leap to make, granted, but still. Warning bells began sounding in the depths of Alec's brain, and if there was one thing he'd learnt, it was to follow his instincts. He was part cat. They weren't often far wrong.

But then, Max was probably in the building now. If he left, there was a high chance of Dr Carlson finding her, and then the whole plan was screwed to hell. He'd just have to adapt the plan.

'Yeah.'

'Designation?'

'X5-494.' It came out easily, familiar on his tongue. It was only afterwards that he realized he should probably have only given her his name, his real name, Alec. She couldn't have used that against him.

Carlson seemed interested. '494?'

'Yeah.'

'I heard about your original, the one they cloned you from. Shame.'

He bristled, but forced himself to smile easily. 'Hey, it makes everything more interesting knowing your twin went insane. Just keeping the fun alive.'

She seemed amused at this. He thought this was probably a good sign. Probably.

'There is no cure, you know.'

He stiffened. 'What?'

'There's no cure.' She shrugged. 'Not that I know of, anyway. So you might as well call off your friend back there who's currently going through my closet.'

How could she know about Max? Alec shot a panicked glance towards the door, but he knew it was locked. If Carlson knew about Max...

He had been sure she'd known too much. About him, about Ben... This had all been too easy.

This was a trap.

He should've listened to his warning bells.

Carlson smiled at the expressions chasing over the transgenic's face. Such a perfect creation. Such sharp intelligence, brilliant physicality, created to protect the human race against the oncoming apocalypse, and yet Sandeman had not stayed long enough to witness the creation of the oncoming apocalypse. So he had never realized that his own transgenics would bring it about.

When 452 had burned Manticore down and White had killed all those he could get his hands on, she had been worried. Worried that the one transgenic they needed had been caught in the crossfire, and it would all be for nothing. That the comet would come, signalling the readiness of the sleeping virus, and they would not be able to do anything about it.

Alec should have seen the other person in the room. Should have known Carlson would never see a suspected transgenic alone. As it was, he didn't realize X5-786 was there until it was too late. And, unlike him, 786 was a combat model.

The blow came sharp and he crumpled. He didn't stand a chance.

'Oh, 494,' Carlson purred smugly. 'You should have recognized me.'

* * *

**A/N: **Dun dun duuuun! Thank you again everyone who read and reviewed, it really does mean a lot to me =] Hopefully the next chapter will be coming along soon, because this is where stuff really gets exciting!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Well, here it is! Sorry this update was so long in coming - I've been busy posting my enormous Supernatural Dean/Cas fic over the last couple of days.

Thank you again to absolutely everyone who read and reviewed, I'm sure you don't need me to tell you how much I appreciate it! There's nothing better for a writer than to know your work is enjoyed =]

Also, if there's anything you guys particularly want to see, or any suggestions you have, feel free to leave them in a review or PM me. I'm totally open to ideas!

* * *

Max ran. Feet slapping against the ground, heart pumping, blood rushing in her ears, hair whipping against her face; she ran. Across the road and to her motorbike, on it and gone in a second, speeding away, leaving only the sound of an engine in her wake.

She had been at Manticore for ten years, nothing compared to how long some had been trapped there, but that had been plenty enough time for them to drill into her their most basic rules: don't die, don't get caught, don't break under pressure, don't disobey orders, _don't abandon the mission_. You never abandoned the mission. You put it before everything else; even if the entire rest of your unit was dead, you picked yourself up, made your way through the wreckage, and continued, until either the mission was complete or you were killed. The mission was everything.

Her mission right now was to save Logan.

Save Logan, save Logan, save Logan. He'd die without her. He had to come first.

She couldn't have stayed, anyway. She couldn't have fought that big X5. There was no way she could go up against a combat model - even if he hadn't had ten years' training on her, and even though she wasn't exactly shabby herself, the 700s were mean fighting machines, big, imposing, strongly muscled, and well-versed in just about every form of hand-to-hand combat known to man.

With Alec's help, she might have stood a chance. But right now Alec was in no position to be helping anyone.

She swerved, narrowly avoiding a passing car which jammed its horn at her, the sound loud, strident, blaring - and then she hit the throttle again, bombing down the road. She needed speed. She needed to get away from that apartment as quickly as possible, but, more than that, she needed to get to the hospital, find Sam Carr, find Logan. She needed to _do _something, but until then, she needed speed, because although her favorite place to think was high up on the Needle, the next best place was going too fast to be safe on her motorbike.

Alec used to race her. Dammit, he was such a pain. Quite apart from the fact that he was a cocky, narcissistic, rude, smart-aleck of a tomcat, he was a trouble magnet to boot. She was always the one having to save his ass, always having to swoop in and help him, and this was no different. Except this time, it wasn't just his life on the line. Logan could die too.

Logan was top priority. He had to be. Alec was X5. He could take care of himself.

That's what she kept telling herself, as she got farther and farther away.

She'd save Logan first. Logan came first. Then she'd go after Alec. It was always saving Alec; it was Logan's turn now. Patient Logan, kind Logan, generous Logan, who always came second and never complained, as opposed to Alec who took the spotlight and ran with it, moaned and groaned and flirted and screwed up and generally just drove her up the damn wall. _All the damn time_.

He'd be fine. He'd probably turn up in half an hour with a grin and a tall tale of daring adventure and derring-do.

He'd be _fine_.

She wasn't abandoning him, not really.

She was going to go back for him.

She just had to sort out Logan first, because Logan couldn'thelp himself. He was stuck, and he would _definitely _die without her help.

Whereas Alec would be okay. He'd be just fine.

And anyway, it wasn't her job to run after him all the time.

He'd be fine.

She rode the rest of the way to the hospital in silence, alone with her thoughts, focusing everything on her need to see Logan, check he was okay. Everything else would come after. If she thought about everything else now, she might fall apart.

She drove like a demon.

'Where is he?' she asked the moment she arrived, stopping her bike in the middle of the parking lot and springing off the seat, pushing past Dr. Carr in her impatience to find Logan. He was in his usual state of perpetual worry, or maybe she only saw him when he was worried. Either way, she didn't care. Nothing mattered right now apart from saving people.

'Max-'

She rounded on him angrily. 'Where is he?'

Carr held out his hands in a calming gesture, speaking gently, almost as if she was a wild animal. 'Max, I need the cure-'

She threw up her hands in exasperation. 'I don't have it!'

'What?'

'_I don't have it_,' she growled. 'Now take me to Logan.' She could try and find him herself, but it would be so easy to get lost in these identical hallways, and the smell of disinfectant masked Logan's scent, and she was a transgenic out of water so if anyone recognized her...

'Max, without the cure-'

'Take me to him!'

Carr shook his head, put his foot down. 'No. I'm sorry, Max, I really am, but you're going to have to just sit tight and wait. He's in intensive care right now, no visitors, and even if he was allowed them, I wouldn't let you in the same room as him. I'm sorry, but it's a risk we just can't afford to take. Just about anything could exacerbate his condition right now, and I don't want him to get any worse because you were too impatient to wait to see him.'

Max swallowed, telling herself to breathe. Logan was okay. For now. But she couldn't see him.

She understood. That was fine. Okay. She could do this. What was she going to do, anyway? Hold his hand and cry? Oh wait no, that would kill him.

She wasn't any use to him here. She'd failed, she didn't have the cure. She didn't have any way to save him.

'Did Alec's blood work?' she asked finally, biting her lip.

The doc sighed. 'It's slowed down the virus, bought us some time - but not long, Max. 48 hours maybe.'

'And when that time runs out?' She didn't need to ask the question, not really. She already knew the answer.

'I don't know. I've never seen anything like this virus before. But I've run a couple of tests, and it seems to me... One those 48 hours are up, his condition will decline drastically and quickly. I'd give him another 4 hours before irreversible damage occurs, 9 hours before he dies. Possibly even less.'

'Well then. I'll just have to find the cure before that time runs out.' She was pleased with how level her voice sounded. It betrayed none of the emotions raging inside her.

* * *

Swimming...

He felt like he was floating on a cloud of nothingness, a myriad of different colors blurring beneath his eyelids, dreaming.

He couldn't...

He couldn't feel. Feel his... him. Feel him.

Body. Couldn't feel his body.

Couldn't...

Heavy eyes, lead lids, weight.

Tired.

_Pain_.

He was awake in a second, breathing coming fast, eyes snapping open, disorientated, dizzy, head full of smoke.

They'd drugged him.

'He's awake.'

The voice sounded like it came from a very long way away, and Alec frowned in an attempt to see through the shadows.

He felt lethargic, sluggish.

_Who was 'they'__?_

His skull throbbed, his muscles weak. Of course. Half his blood was currently pumping through Logan's veins, trying to keep him alive.

_Logan_. The cure. Dr Carlson. Manticore.

Ugh. Max was gonna kick his ass.

Although first he had to get out of this.

'So glad you've decided to join the land of the living. I was starting to worry I'd given you too much.'

That was Dr Carlson. Alec shook his head in an attempt to clear it, blinked, and looked around, gauging his surroundings. He was in the back of a car, lying across the seats and with his wrists and ankles cuffed. His head pounded; they must've given him enough sedatives to knock out a rhinoceros.

The car juddered along the road, Dr Carlson's knuckles white on the steering wheel. Alec eyed the door suspiciously. The car was going fast, too fast, but if he could somehow make it out the door, there was a chance he'd survive. He _was _X5, after all, even if he was admittedly not in his best state. It didn't take a genius to work out that staying in the car was a very bad idea indeed. If he didn't die, he'd sure as hell wish he had by the time they were through with him.

'Don't even think about it, Tiger,' Dr Carlson said, pleasantly enough, but Alec knew she'd give the order to shoot him without batting an eyelid.

So escaping was out of the picture. For now, at least.

'So, what, you're just going to sell me to the highest bidder?' he said, trying a different tactic. If he could get her to talk, then maybe he'd be able to work out what the hell was going on.

'You have an elevated idea of your own worth, soldier,' she replied. 'We're not interested in money.'

_We_? So she wasn't working alone, then. But he could've worked that out for himself - there's no way an ex-Manticore doctor could pull off a stunt like this without some help. Just getting an X5 alone would have taken some doing.

'How'd you get Cuddles over there?' he asked jerking his chin in the direction of the hulking transgenic in the passenger seat. The guy was nearly doubled over, his knees pulled up high like an adult on a tricycle, and the comedy of the discomfort on the guy's face wasn't lost on Alec, even in his own less-than-ideal situation.

Dr Carlson didn't even move her eyes from the road. 'X5-786 was a gift from a mutual friend of ours.'

Alec cocked an eyebrow. 'Friend, huh? Who, Lydecker? Renfro? Santa Claus?'

Dr Carlson smiled slightly. 'Ahh, I remember now. You use humor when you feel threatened.'

'Uh huh?'

'I read your file. I should know.'

_She read his_... Why? How could she know so much about him, and he not the first thing about her.

The answer came to him pretty quickly.

She'd been a Manticore doctor. He'd been at Manticore. They had ways of making you forget.

They'd made him forget her, and whatever it was she had done to him. She had worked on him, studied him, hell, maybe even dissected him, and he couldn't even remember her face.

The thought of Manticore and it's cold, sterile, white corridors had always plauged his dreams, a waking nightmare, and the memory of its doctors, of PsyOps, of the horrors held within more than anything. But nothing frightened him as much as this doctor.

He was totally powerless, and the secrets, whatever they were, were locked up in his own brain. Manticore hadn't only owned his body and soul, they'd owned his mind, they'd turned it inside out, changed it, shaped it, moulded it, and plucked out anything they didn't like. He'd never felt so lost in his entire life. Not even when Rachel died. He'd had purpose then; he'd used his anger and hatred and pain, turned it against them.

But now he just felt empty.

* * *

**A/N: **A shorter chapter for today. Again, I'm sorry it took so long coming, but I have a great idea for how I'm going to continue this. It's moving quite slowly right now, which I apologise for, but I do promise it'll speed up. Hopefully the next update will be up soon =]


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